IMPACT REPORT / 2019

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Seven years ago, we started the

Boston Impact Initiative with a

hypothesis and a dream. The hy-

pothesis was that it was possible

to create an integrated capital fund

deploying equity, debt and grants

to close the racial wealth divide in

our extremely unequal community

of Greater Boston. The dream was

we’d be able to share this model

with communities around the

country who could, together,

build a thriving national network

of place-based funds dedicated

to racial and economic justice.

Since then, we’ve put more than

$6M to work (through both the

pilot fund and the charitable loan

fund) at 60 enterprises in Eastern

Massachusetts that are majority

governed, run and staffed by peo-

ple of color, pay the vast majority

of their workers well above a liv-

ing wage and are building wealth

for communities of color through

enterprise ownership. And now

we’re launching a national program

to share what we’ve learned (See

‘Scaling Across: Moving Beyond

Boston’ on p. 10).

After three years dedicated to

helping BII design and launch its

innovative fund, Mark Watson has

passed the leadership reins to a

top-notch directorate. Together,

Aliana Pineiro as Impact Director,

Pablo Limon as Investment Director

and Gregory Bloomfield as Director

of Finance and Administration will

deliver on BII Fund’s promise to

provide integrated capital to entre-

preneurs of color and pay back our

many noteholders. Mark is continu-

ing part-time as Portfolio Strategist,

supporting our team as they step

fully into leadership of BII Fund.

Warmly,

Deborah Frieze

President

DEAR FRIENDS

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WHY RELATIONSHIP MATTERS MOSTMATHTALK

When Omo Moses walked into

BII Fund’s office in February 2017,

he had a concept: He wanted to

create a company that would turn

public spaces into mathscapes

using playful installations and

a mobile app.

Omo had years of experience as an activist

using math to prepare underserved youth

for leadership and success, but he’d never run

a for-profit enterprise or brought a product

to market. Nonetheless, BII Fund committed

countless hours to helping develop MathTalk,

supporting Omo in formulating his concept,

developing a business plan, attending pitch

sessions for early financial support and

eventually, 2.5 years later, providing him

with convertible loan capital.

We had no idea whether MathTalk would

become an investment opportunity when

we made a commitment to accompany

Omo in 2017. As a mission-driven enterprise,

we recognize that relationship comes first:

Contributing our knowledge and networks

to local entrepreneurs has value far beyond

the measure of our dollars deployed.

MathTalk is a multi-channel learning platform

dedicated to engaging children, primarily from

economically depressed communities, in novel

approaches to discover, playfully explore and

talk about math in the world around them.

Through a network comprised of hotspots,

installations and mobile apps, children are

immersed in a connected learning experience

that bridges home, classroom and community.

MathTalk is a public benefit corporation poised

to upend the achievement gap.

Boston Impact Initiative has been

a frequent thought partner that has

facilitated connections and invested

resources that have enabled our

company to grow.

—Omo Moses CEO, MathTalk

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WHO TELLS OUR STORIES MATTERSFUTURO MEDIA GROUP

According to a 2014 study by the

American Press Institute, only 25

percent of African-Americans and

33 percent of Hispanics said the

news media accurately portrayed

their communities.

That may be because in newsrooms of all

kinds—print, radio and television—people of

color have been notoriously left behind. Futuro

Media Group is addressing that head on by

creating multimedia content for and about

underrepresented communities in a newsroom

that is comprised primarily of people of color

(78%), women (80%) and immigrant or first-

generation Americans (65%).

In addition to producing series like America

By the Numbers, Latino Rebels and In The Thick

examining the politics of a changing America,

FMG hosts the Community Podcast Lab, an

opportunity to elevate the narratives and cultivate

the storytelling skills of community members in

Boston and New York. BII Fund provided bridge

finance to sustain the Community Podcast Lab

between grant cycles.

Founder Maria Hinojosa was the first Latina in

many newsrooms. She dreamt of a space where

she could create independent, multimedia journal-

ism that explores and gives a critical voice to the

diverse American experience. In 2010, she created

FMG as an independent, nonprofit organization

to share the stories of the new American main-

stream. Today, Bostonian Erika Dilday serves as

CEO, shaping FMG’s long-term strategic vision

and sustainability.

BII provided the technical support

and funding we needed to expand

our media programs for people of

color. With their help, we created

a platform to share and preserve

authentic stories of Boston’s

multi-cultural neighborhoods.

—Erika Dilday Executive Director, Futuro Media Group

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FINANCING FEMALE FOUNDERSMEETCAREGIVERS + CARE ACADEMY

According to PitchBook, female

founders received 2.2 percent

of $130 billion in venture capital

funding in 2018, with less than

half that amount going to women

of color.

In Massachusetts, only $2.24 million of venture

money went to 7 Black women entrepreneurs

—compared to a total of $12 billion across

660 deals. Small wonder founders like Helen

Adeosun of Care Academy and Florence

Furaha of Meetcaregivers struggled to raise

the capital their enterprises deserved. Both

tech entrepreneurs faced challenges in gaining

access to decision-makers, as well as getting

investors to close.

BII Fund provided convertible debt and

preferred equity to the two young enterprises.

More important, we reached out to prospective

co-investors across the country to open doors

and help close deals. Our approach to tackling

structural inequity is head on: We need to call

it out for what it is, broker new relationships,

write checks and make the new opportunities

visible to the marketplace.

MEETCAREGIVERS is a home healthcare platform

that connects families with caregivers for aging

parents at up to 50 percent lower cost than tra-

ditional agencies. Its technology-enabled service

makes the process safer and easier, decreasing

readmission to hospitals and allowing seniors to

age at home. The company provides caregivers

—predominantly women of color and immigrants—

with significantly higher wages, increasing reten-

tion in an industry plagued by high turnover.

CARE ACADEMY is an online training platform

that educates professional and family caregivers

with high-quality classes and certifications,

enabling agencies to hire, onboard, train and

retain caregivers. The company has developed

42 proprietary video-based classes targeted

to train caregivers—predominantly women of

color and immigrants—who work with the

elderly or people with disability. Through its

certification program, caregivers are able to

achieve higher wages.

BII was a lifeline for our startup

last year. They believed in us when

not many investors did. We are

grateful for their continuous support

and excited they will continue to

break barriers for many female,

underrepresented founders.

—Florence Furaha CEO, Meetcaregivers

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SCALING ACROSS:MOVING BEYOND BOSTON

We often get asked about scale: What difference,

people want to know, can a $10M fund make

when up against the trillions of dollars working

so hard to amplify inequality? How does the

Boston Impact Initiative intend to “go to scale”?

Our answer has to do with our beliefs about change. Conventional

wisdom says we need to multiply what works through one-size-fits

all replication. That’s called “scaling up” and we recognize it the

minute we walk into a Starbucks. But there’s another way to get

to scale, which is when people create something locally and inspire

others who carry the idea home and develop it in their own unique

way. This is called “scaling across.”

In August, BII Fund hosted 22 people from Grand Rapids on a learning journey to Boston.

Participants learned how they might support entrepreneurs of color in their community.

In 2019, BII Fund engaged in scaling across in three ways:

1. Impact Capital Lab: We offer

advisory support to public and

private foundations, anchor

institutions and investor groups

to learn how to invest to close the

racial wealth divide. In 2019, we

partnered with more than a dozen

communities around the country.

2. Grand Rapids Pilot: We embarked

on an 18-month fund design

project to support partners in

Grand Rapids in developing

an integrated capital fund for West

Michigan. The project included a

learning journey to Boston (photo).

3. BII Fund-Building Cohort:

We selected 27 existing and

prospective fund managers

from 12 communities to join us

for an 18-month program to

develop the financial rigor and

multi-stakeholder engagement

processes to structure, raise and

manage an integrated capital fund.

The purpose of these funds is to

build sustainable, inclusive and

equitable local economies that

restore the productive capacity

of communities of color.

Communities in the

Fund-Building Cohort:

• Atlanta, GA

• Baltimore, MD

• Chattanooga, TN

• Dallas, TX

• Indianapolis, IN

• Minnesota (statewide)

• New Mexico (statewide)

• New York City

• New York (statewide)

• Philadelphia, PA

• Seattle, WA

• Twin Cities, MN

To learn about these

27 extraordinary pioneers,

please visit the BII Fund-

Building Cohort page

on our web site. Want to

support this effort? We’re

looking for co-investors,

funders and partners

both locally and nationally.

We’d love to have you join

us in this work.

HOW WE’RE CLOSING THE RACIAL WEALTH DIVIDE

By the end of 2019, there

were 25 enterprises in the

BII Fund portfolio. That

included 16 for-profit

enterprises (including 3

Public Benefit Corporations),

7 non-profits and 2 worker-

owned cooperatives.

All 25 enterprises participated in

a 40-question Impact Assessment

to measure their effectiveness in

increasing wealth and power for

communities of color.* Here are

highlights from what we learned

about our portfolio.

* The data from one respondent is based on estimates.

REVENUE GROWTH

• 149% aggregategrowth year-over-year

CAPITAL RAISED

• Every $1 of capitalinvested by BIIleveraged $13 offollow-on capital

The portfolio is majority governed, run and staffed by people of color.

OVER HALF of board mem-

bers and founders/executives

are people of color and 77% of

non-executive employees are

people of color.

OWNERSHIP STAKE BY:

(Note that these groups are not mutually exclusive.)

Ownership by people of color and women is strong even after accounting for external shareholders.

59%

32%

42%

PEOPLE OF COLOR

WOMEN

WOMEN OF COLOR

JOBS HELD BY:

(Note that these groups are not mutually exclusive.)

The number of jobs in the portfolio was 546, an increase of nearly 150% over 2018.

73%

46%

62%

PEOPLE OF COLOR

WOMEN

WOMEN OF COLOR

TOTAL COMPENSATION TO:

(Note that these groups are not mutually exclusive.)

Total compensation in the portfolio was $18M, an increase of more than 227% over 2018.

$11MWOMEN:

$10.3MPEOPLE OF COLOR:

$7.2MWOMEN OF COLOR:

Wages are equitably distributed, and there is no gender wage gap. The compensation ratio of the highest paid

to lowest paid person is 2.7 to 1 compared to a national average of

287 to 1. Men and women are paid at a ratio of 1.2 to 1.

83% of workforce is paid at or above the living wage

The portfolio pays the vast majority of its workers well above a living wage.

83%

The average hourly wage paid to lowest paid employee is

$18.97compared to an average living wage of

$15.28

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HOW WE’RE FINANCING OUR INVESTMENTS

As of December 2019, BII Fund had sold $5.75M

in Notes to more than 115 community investors,

high net worth individuals, foundations and

faith-based institutions. BII Fund raised $772k

in grants to fund programs and operations in

2019—more than doubling our 2018 fundraising.

The charts below represent how we’ve deployed the

cumulative capital raised as of December 2019.

65%

27%

8%INVESTMENTS BY TYPE:

65% DEBT

27% EQUITY

8% GRANTS $3.8M

INVESTMENTS BY SECTOR:

16% Maufacturing

16% Food & Agriculture

16% Environment & Energy

12% Education

10% Healthcare

9% Impact Capacity Building

5% Professional Services

5% Real Estate

5% Arts & Culture

3% Financial Services

3% Technology

3%

16%

16%

16%

12%

10%

9%

5%

5%

5%

3%

$3.8M

We believe we can build a sustainable,

inclusive and equitable economy

by investing integrated capital in

regenerative local enterprises that

restore the productive capacity of

communities of color.

ORGANIZATIONS IN OUR PORTFOLIO

50 Kitchen Dorchester

Democracy Brewing Boston

ICIC Roxbury

88 Acres Dorchester

Done Good Somerville

MathTalk Cambridge

Boston Ujima Project Boston

Maven Construction Dorchester

Sunwealth

Commonwealth Kitchen Dorchester

Tartt’s Daycare Boston

Care Academy Boston

Meetcaregivers Newton

Sweet Teez Dorchester

Delectable Desires West Roxbury

TC’s Repair Services Brockton

Center for Economic Democracy Boston

Pristine Engineers Raynham

CERO Dorchester

Somerville Community Corporation Somerville

City Life / Vida Urbana Jamaica Plain

EforAll Lowell

Fresh Food Generation Dorchester

Mobile Cuts Milton

COHIF Dorchester

Five Star Plating Lawrence

Futuro Media Group

Quality Interactions Boston

Transformative Culture Project Roxbury

Urban Farming Institute Mattapan

Wash Cycle Laundry Chelsea and Worcester

WeSpire Boston

BOARD

Deborah Frieze

Michael Frieze

Lisa Hayles

Mike Leyba

Aaron Tanaka

INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

Betty Francisco

Deborah Frieze

Michael Frieze

Matt Kahn

Aaron Tanaka

Mark Watson

GRANTS ADVISORY COUNCIL

Angela Brown

Eric Esteves

Deborah Frieze

Mike Leyba

Aaron Tanaka

STAFF

Gregory Bloomfield

Deborah Frieze

Pablo Limon

Aliana Pineiro

Mark Watson

TO OUR PARTNERS:

THANK YOUFROM ALL OF US

We invest in opportunity for

all people—especially those

most oppressed or abandoned

by our current economic

system—to lead a dignified

and productive life.

bostonimpact.org

@bosimpact

@bostonimpactinitiative